Connecting people within physical spaces

ABSTRACT

Facilitating conversations among people within physical spaces is described. An interaction tablet can be housed within a physical space and configured to receive profile information from mobile devices of customers. The profile information can indicate conversational topics that customers are interested in within the physical space. Similarities between conversational topics of customers can be determined and those customers can be recommended to engage in a conversation regarding that conversational topic. One customer can also be provided information regarding what another customer prefers to purchase from the physical space and, therefore, use the purchase to facilitate a conversation to create a more engaging environment within the physical space.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/589,211, filed May 8, 2017, which is incorporated by reference hereinin its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to connecting people within physical spaces, andin particular facilitating conversations among people within physicalspaces such as retail stores.

BACKGROUND

Some physical spaces, such as coffee shops, provide a meeting placewhere people can order coffee and spend time at a table. Often, coffeeshops have wireless networks offering access to the Internet toencourage customers to extend their stays. This can result in somecustomers being repeat customers, and some of those repeat customersmight overlap their stays and recognize each other. However, some of thecustomers might find it difficult or uncomfortable to interact with eachother without knowing more about each other. Thus, the physical spacemight not provide much social interaction.

SUMMARY

Some of the subject matter described herein includes a method forconnecting people within a retail space to engage in a conversation witheach other, the method comprising: determining, by a tablet devicehoused within the retail space, that a first mobile device correspondingto a first customer has entered the retail space, the determination madeby receiving a first profile information of the first customer that isgenerated by an interaction application of the first mobile device thatis configured to provide the first profile information to the tabletdevice; storing, by the tablet device, the first profile information ina database, the first profile information indicating a conversationaltopic that the first customer is interested in engaging in within theretail space, a profile type that is one of a personal profile type or abusiness profile type providing further context regarding theconversational topic, and a product preference indicating a product thatthe first customer prefers to purchase from the retail space;determining, by the tablet device, that a second mobile devicecorresponding to a second customer has entered the retail space, thedetermination also made by receiving a second profile information of thesecond customer that is generated by the interaction application of thesecond mobile device; storing, by the tablet device, the second profileinformation in the database, the second profile information indicating aconversational topic that the second customer is interested in engagingin within the retail space, and a profile type that is one of thepersonal profile type or the business profile type; determining, by thetablet device, that the conversational topic of the first profileinformation and the second profile information are the same, and thatprofile type of the first profile information corresponding to the firstcustomer and the second profile information corresponding to the secondcustomer are the same; providing, by the tablet device, an indication tothe second mobile device corresponding to the second customer that thefirst customer is available within the retail space to discuss theconversational topic; providing, by the tablet device, an indicationregarding the product preference of the first customer; and receiving,by the tablet device, a request from the second mobile device of thesecond customer to prepare the product corresponding to the productpreference of the first customer to facilitate an introduction to aconversation regarding the conversational topic between the firstcustomer and the second customer within the retail space; and generate,by the tablet device, a purchase request for an employee of the retailspace to prepare a product corresponding to the product preference forthe second customer to provide the first customer to facilitate theconversation regarding the conversational topic.

Some of the subject matter described herein also includes a method,comprising: receiving, by a processor, a first profile information of afirst customer, the first profile information representing aconversational topic that the first customer is interested in havingwithin a physical space; determining, by the processor, that a secondprofile information of a second customer that is within the physicalspace also represents the conversational topic; providing, by theprocessor, information regarding the second customer within the physicalspace to the first customer based on the determination that the secondprofile information also represents the conversational topic, theinformation including a reference to a product or service that thesecond customer prefers to obtain from the retail space; receiving, bythe processor, a request from the first customer to purchase the productor service; and generate, by the processor, an indication representingthat the first customer wishes to purchase the product or service forthe second customer to facilitate a conversation regarding theconversational topic.

In some implementations, the first profile information of the firstcustomer also represents a first profile type, and the second profileinformation of the second customer also represents a second profiletype, the first profile type of the first profile information and thesecond profile type of the second profile information being one of apersonal profile or a business profile.

In some implementations, the personal profile and the business profilerepresent a context regarding the conversational topic.

In some implementations, the method includes determining that the firstprofile type and the second profile type are similar, wherein providingthe information regarding the second customer within the physical spaceis further based on the determination that the first profile type andthe second profile type are similar.

In some implementations, the method includes determining similaritiesbetween purchase histories of the first customer and the secondcustomer, the purchase histories representing purchases of products orservices related to the physical space, wherein providing theinformation regarding the second customer within the physical space isfurther based on the similarities between the purchase histories.

In some implementations, the method includes determining similaritiesbetween conversational histories of the first customer and the secondcustomer within the physical space, wherein providing the informationregarding the second customer within the physical space is further basedon the similarities between the conversational histories.

In some implementations, the first customer and the second customer areboth within the physical space.

In some implementations, the first mobile device corresponding to thefirst customer and the second mobile device corresponding to the secondcustomer are communicatively coupled with a wireless network implementedwithin the physical space.

In some implementations, the method includes: determining that the firstcustomer and the second customer are engaged in the conversation; andproviding a message regarding a promotional discount of a product or aservice provided by the physical space based on the determination thatthe first customer and the second customer are engaged in theconversation.

Some of the subject matter described herein also includes a system,comprising: a database storing a first profile information of a firstcustomer having a first mobile device that is within a physical space,the first profile information indicating a conversational topic that thefirst customer is interested in within the physical space, the firstprofile information also indicating a reference to a product or aservice that the first customer prefers to purchase from the physicalspace; a customer interaction logic configured to determine that asecond customer having a second mobile device has entered the physicalspace and is associated with a second profile information indicating aconversational topic that the second customer is interested in withinthe physical space, and configured to determine that the conversationaltopic of the first profile information and the second profileinformation are similar; and a customer engagement logic configured toprovide information regarding the first customer within the physicalspace to the second mobile device of the second customer, theinformation including a reference to the product or the service that thefirst customer prefers, and configured to generate an indication thatthe first customer wishes to purchase the product of the service for thesecond customer to facilitate a conversation regarding theconversational topic.

In some implementations, the first profile information of the firstcustomer also represents a first profile type, and the second profileinformation of the second customer also represents a second profiletype, the first profile type of the first profile information and thesecond profile type of the second profile information being one of apersonal profile or a business profile.

In some implementations, the personal profile and the business profilerepresent a context regarding the conversational topic.

In some implementations, the customer interaction logic is furtherconfigured to determine that the first profile type and the secondprofile type are similar, wherein providing the information regardingthe second customer within the physical space is further based on thedetermination that the first profile type and the second profile typeare similar.

In some implementations, the customer interaction logic is furtherconfigured to determine similarities between purchase histories of thefirst customer and the second customer, the purchase historiesrepresenting purchases of products or services related to the physicalspace, wherein providing the information regarding the second customerwithin the physical space is further based on the similarities betweenthe purchase histories.

In some implementations, the customer interaction logic is furtherconfigured to determine similarities between conversational histories ofthe first customer and the second customer within the physical space,wherein providing the information regarding the second customer withinthe physical space is further based on the similarities between theconversational histories.

In some implementations, the first customer and the second customer areboth within the physical space.

In some implementations, the first mobile device corresponding to thefirst customer and the second mobile device corresponding to the secondcustomer are communicatively coupled with a wireless network implementedwithin the physical space.

In some implementations, the customer interaction logic is furtherconfigured to determine that the first customer and the second customerare engaged in the conversation and configured to provide a messageregarding a promotional discount of a product or a service provided bythe physical space based on the determination that the first customerand the second customer are engaged in the conversation.

Some of the subject matter described herein also includes a computerprogram product, comprising one or more non-transitory computer-readablemedia having computer program instructions stored therein, the computerprogram instructions being configured such that, when executed by one ormore computing devices, the computer program instructions cause the oneor more computing devices to: receive a first profile information of afirst customer, the first profile information representing aconversational topic that the first customer is interested in havingwithin a physical space; determine that a second profile information ofa second customer that is within the physical space also represents theconversational topic; provide information regarding the second customerwithin the physical space to the first customer based on thedetermination that the second profile information also represents theconversational topic, the information including a reference to a productor service that the second customer prefers to obtain from the retailspace; receive a request from the first customer to purchase the productor service; and generate an indication representing that the firstcustomer wishes to purchase the product or service for the secondcustomer to facilitate a conversation regarding the conversationaltopic.

In some implementations, wherein the first profile information of thefirst customer also represents a first profile type, and the secondprofile information of the second customer also represents a secondprofile type, the first profile type of the first profile informationand the second profile type of the second profile information being oneof a personal profile or a business profile.

In some implementations, the personal profile and the business profilerepresent a context regarding the conversational topic.

In some implementations, the computer program instructions cause the oneor more computing devices to: determine that the first profile type andthe second profile type are similar, wherein providing the informationregarding the second customer within the physical space is further basedon the determination that the first profile type and the second profiletype are similar.

In some implementations, the computer program instructions cause the oneor more computing devices to: determine similarities between purchasehistories of the first customer and the second customer, the purchasehistories representing purchases of products or services related to thephysical space, wherein providing the information regarding the secondcustomer within the physical space is further based on the similaritiesbetween the purchase histories.

In some implementations, the computer program instructions cause the oneor more computing devices to: determine similarities betweenconversational histories of the first customer and the second customerwithin the physical space, wherein providing the information regardingthe second customer within the physical space is further based on thesimilarities between the conversational histories.

In some implementations, the first customer and the second customer areboth within the physical space.

In some implementations, the first mobile device corresponding to thefirst customer and the second mobile device corresponding to the secondcustomer are communicatively coupled with a wireless network implementedwithin the physical space.

In some implementations, the computer program instructions cause the oneor more computing devices to: determine that the first customer and thesecond customer are engaged in the conversation; and provide a messageregarding a promotional discount of a product or a service provided bythe physical space based on the determination that the first customerand the second customer are engaged in the conversation.

Some of the subject matter described herein also includes selecting afirst profile type representing that a first customer having a firstmobile device is interesting in having a conversation in one of apersonal context or a business context within a physical space;providing a conversational topic related to the conversation;generating, by a processor, a first profile representing that the firstcustomer is interested in having the conversation corresponding to theconversational topic within the physical space in the personal or thebusiness context; providing the first profile representing the firstcustomer to an interaction tablet housed within the physical space, theinteraction tablet configured to communicate with mobile devices ofcustomers within the physical space; receiving a second profilerepresenting that a second customer having a second mobile device isalso interesting in having the conversation corresponding to theconversational topic within the physical space in the personal or thebusiness context associated with the first profile, the second profilealso indicating a preference for a product or a service that the secondcustomer prefers to obtain within the physical space; and generate, bythe processor, a request representing that the first customer wishes topurchase the product or the service corresponding to the preference ofthe second customer to facilitate the conversation regarding theconversational topic.

In some implementations, the first customer and the second customer areboth within the physical space.

In some implementations, wherein the first mobile device, the secondmobile device, and the interaction tablet are communicatively coupled toa wireless network implemented within the physical space.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of facilitating conversations among peoplewithin a physical space.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a block diagram for facilitatingconversations among people within a physical space.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of providing a message regarding apromotion within a physical space.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a block diagram for providing a messageregarding a promotion within a physical space.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a block diagram for determining amatch.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a device for facilitatingconversations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This disclosure describes devices and techniques for facilitatingconversations among people within physical spaces. In one example, acoffee shop can provide a wireless network (e.g., implemented with oneof the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11standards) offering access to the Internet to its customers. Thus,customers can come in, order coffee, and enjoy that coffee at one of thetables at the coffee shop while using a mobile phone (or other mobiledevice such as a tablet, smart watch, etc.) that has access to theInternet via the wireless network.

The customer's mobile phone can have an application installed thatallows it to communicate with an interaction tablet housed within thecoffee shop and also connected via the wireless network. The applicationon the mobile phone can generate or provide different types of a profileof the customer, for example, business or personal profiles that canindicate different topics that the customer would like to discuss andthe customer's identity. Business profiles can be selected whencustomers are more interested in networking or professional discussions.Personal profiles can be selected when customers are interested in moresocial or personal types of discussions. Additionally, the profiles canindicate the type of coffee or coffee product (i.e., a product sold bythe retail store such as the coffee shop) that the customer prefers.Thus, the profiles can indicate who a customer is and what they want totalk about in the moment. This profile can be received by theinteraction tablet and compared with the profiles provided by othercustomers also having the application on their mobile phones. If thetopics that the customers are interested in discussing are similar, theinteraction tablet can inform the customers so that they can engage in aconversation with each other. To further facilitate the start of theconversation, the interaction tablet can also recommend one of thecustomers to purchase the other customer's preference for coffee.

For example, a first customer can select a business profile indicatingthat she would like to discuss “architecture” because she is anarchitect. Another, second customer can already be in the coffee shopand had previously selected a business profile indicating that he wouldlike to discuss “architecture” also, perhaps because he is a homebuilder. The second customer's business profile can also indicate thathe likes to order cappuccinos at the coffee shop. Thus, the firstcustomer can be informed that there is a match for someone to discussarchitecture and that customer likes to drink cappuccinos. Using theapplication on the smartphone, the customer can select to have an orderfor a cappuccino to be prepared by the coffee shop, retrieve thecappuccino, and offer it to the second customer as a way to begin aconversation regarding architecture. As a result, the customers withinthe coffee shop can engage with each other in a meaningful and impactfulway, allowing for a visit to the coffee shop to become a more vibrantexperience. Additionally, sales at the coffee shop can increase becausecustomers can introduce one another by purchasing the other customer'spreferred coffee. Moreover, customers might visit the coffee shop moreoften which can also lead to more sales and a more vibrant experience.

Although a coffee shop is used in the aforementioned example, otherphysical spaces can also be used. For example, bars, grocery stores,restaurants, conventions (e.g., trade shows, etc.), carnival grounds,circuses, concert venues, etc. can also be the physical spaces in whichpeople can be encouraged to engage with each other using similar devicesand techniques.

In more detail, FIG. 1 illustrates an example of facilitatingconversations among people within a physical space. In FIG. 1, customer115 carrying mobile device 105 might enter a coffee shop withinteraction tablet 135. Mobile device 105 can include a interactionapplication that allows customer 115 to be connected with anothercustomer within the coffee shop due to a shared interest in aconversational topic.

For example, the coffee shop might have a wireless network for itscustomers to use while enjoying their coffee products. Thus, interactiontablet 135 and mobile device 105 can be communicatively coupled witheach other via the wireless network and exchange data. In FIG. 1, if itis the first time customer 115 has entered the coffee shop with mobiledevice 105, and mobile device 105 has the interaction applicationinstalled, then, using the wireless network, interaction tablet 135 canbe provided a message from mobile device 105 that it is in the coffeeshop. Interaction tablet 135 can include or have access to a database(e.g., stored locally or on a cloud server that it has access to 0 tostore information that it receives from the mobile devices. Interactiontablet 135 might include data indicating the name of the coffee shop,the menu (e.g., products or services for sale and their prices), andother information related to the business. This information can beprovided to mobile device 105 and saved. Customer 115 can then beinformed that a social interaction activity might be present. Thus, inFIG. 1, customer 115 can use mobile device 105, open or execute theinteraction application and see graphical user interface (GUI) 140indicating that the coffee shop (e.g., “Kaldi Café” in FIG. 1) is aplace that customer 115 can be matched with another customer within thesame coffee shop for a discussion. As depicted in GUI 140, customer 115can select either a personal profile 155 or a professional profile 160.

The different profiles can indicate different motivations for customer115 to engage in interactions. For example, by selecting personalprofile 155, this might indicate that customer 115 prefers to have amore personal, less business-like interaction with another customer, forexample, to discuss topics such as books, films, politics, etc. Bycontrast, if professional profile 160 is selected, then this mightindicate that customer 115 prefers to have a more professional,business-oriented interaction with another customer, for example, todiscuss job opportunities, expand his business network, etc. As aresult, customer 115 can have different profiles, or “micro-profiles,”representing some sort of broad intent or objective that can providefurther context to a conversational topic.

In FIG. 1, customer 115 can select personal profile 155 and be presentedwith GUI 145, which provides an opportunity for customer 115 to indicatea topic of a conversation that he wishes to have with another customer.For example, as depicted in FIG. 1, conversational topic 165 is selectedto be “Beard maintenance.” Thus, this indicates that customer 115 wantsto have a conversation regarding the maintenance of beards, for example,because he has questions regarding how to style his facial hair.Additionally, customer 115 can indicate his product preference 170,which can represent a product or service offered by the coffee shop thatcustomer 115 enjoys. In FIG. 1, product preference 170 is indicate as“Yirgacheffe pour over” coffee. This profile (i.e., personal profile 155with conversational topic 165 and product preference 170 provided) canbe provided to interaction tablet 135, which can then determine whetheranother user with a similar profile is within the coffee shop. If so,then one or both of the customers can be recommended to meet together tointeract with each other.

For example, in FIG. 1, customer 120 using mobile device 110 might haveentered the coffee shop before customer 115 and provided profile 130(also a personal profile) indicating conversational topic 180 as alsobeing “Beard maintenance” and product preference 185 as indicating thathe prefers drinking “Lattes.” Interaction tablet 135 can store thisinformation in a database and, therefore, compare the informationbetween profile 130 and profile 125 to determine whether there arecustomers within the coffee shop that can be matched together forconversation.

In FIG. 1, because both customers provided personal profiles, they canbe identified as potential matches. Because the personal profilesindicate the same or similar conversational topics (e.g., “Beardmaintenance”) then interaction tablet 135 can determine that customer115 and customer 120 can benefit from being introduced. Thus, one orboth of the customers can be provided a message by interaction tablet135 indicating that there is another customer in the coffee shopavailable and interested in discussing a similar topic with some similarexpectations (e.g., a casual, less formal conversation because bothprofiles 125 and 130 were personal profiles rather than professionalprofiles). In FIG. 1, because customer 120 entered the coffee shopbefore customer 115, customer 115 (via mobile device 105) can beprovided a message depicted as GUI 150 from interaction tablet 135indicating that theirs is someone in the coffee shop who is likely to beinterested in talking.

Additionally, as depicted in GUI 150 in FIG. 1, the message receivedfrom interaction tablet 135 also indicates that customer 115 canpurchase customer 120 a latte. This can be provided because it isindicated by customer 120 as his product preference 185 in profile 130.Customer 115 can select to place an order for the latte. This canprovide a request back to interaction tablet 135 that customer 115 wantsto order a latte, the coffee shop employees can then prepare the lattebecause a GUI of interaction tablet 135 can indicate to do so, andcustomer 115 can introduce himself to customer 120 and provide customer120 his favorite drink as a start to a conversation 190 regarding theirbeards.

As a result, customer 115 can connect with customer 120 and have ameaningful conversation 190 within the coffee shop rather than sit aloneat their respective tables. Additionally, the conversation can startmore naturally with less or no awkwardness because the customers know alittle bit more about each other, what they want to discuss, and thatthey're at the coffee shop for similar reasons (e.g., a personal visitrather than a professional visit for example during a coffee break fromwork). Moreover, the coffee shop can see more traffic (i.e., morecustomers) because it can be a more social gathering place, alsoresulting in an increase in sales.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a block diagram for facilitatingconversations among people within a physical space. In FIG. 2, a mobiledevice can connect to a wireless network of a retail space (205). Forexample, in FIG. 1, mobile device 105 can connect to the wirelessnetwork of a coffee shop in which interaction tablet 135 is alsocommunicatively coupled with. In some implementations, this results inmobile device 105 and interaction table 135 communicating with eachother and exchanging various types of data, for example, interactiontablet 135 can provide information such as the name of the coffee shop,a graphical logo, types of products or services it offers and theircorresponding prices, etc.

The mobile device can then use an interaction application configured tointeract with interaction tablet 135 to select a profile type (210). Forexample, in FIG. 1, customer 115 can use mobile device 105 to selectpersonal profile 155 using GUI 140. This results in the interactionapplication indicating that customer 115 wants to use a personal profileas opposed to a professional or business profile. As discussed herein,customer 115 might want to have different profiles based on the types ofinteractions that he wants. In one scenario, during business hours onweekdays, he might prefer to use his professional profile. Outside ofbusiness hours on weekdays and all weekend, he might prefer to use hispersonal profile.

The mobile device can then receive conversational topic information(215) and product preference information (220). In some implementations,a name of the customer can also be received. For example, in FIG. 1,customer 115 can input that he would like to discuss “Beard maintenance”regarding his facial hair as conversational topic 165 and that he likesto order “Yirgacheffe pour over” to indicate that he likes to drink apour over style coffee made from beans harvested from the Yirgachefedistrict of Ethiopia. In some implementations, a customer can providemany different conversational topics. For example, several keywords canbe individually or collectively provided regarding a single topic ormultiple topics that the customer is interested in having.

Next, the profile can be provided to the interaction tablet so that itcan receive the profile type, conversational topic, and productpreference (225). For example, in FIG. 1, interaction tablet 135 canreceive profile 125 indicating that it is a personal profile 155providing conversational topic 165 and product preference 170. Usingthat information, it can be determined that another profile matches oris similar (230). For example, in FIG. 1, interaction tablet might havebeen previously provided profile 130 from mobile device of anothercustomer 120. The information of profiles 125 and 130 can be analyzedand determined whether customer 115 and customer 120 should berecommended to engage in a conversation in the coffee shop. For example,similarities between the profile type, and conversational topic can bedetermined. In some implementations, merely similarities between theconversational topics can be determined without consideration of profiletype. Though the conversational topics are identical in FIG. 1, in otherimplementations, similarities between them can be determined formatching purposes. For example, one customer might input in “Beards”while another customer might put in “Facial hair” and these can bedetermined by interaction tablet 135, or a cloud server that interactiontablet 135 has access with, to be associated with a similarconversational topic. Thus, textual recognition can be performed byinteraction tablet 135 to determine whether text from different profilesis the same, similar, or related to each other. In some implementations,this functionality might be performed by the mobile device. For example,the profiles of other customers within the store can be provided to acustomer's mobile device and the mobile device can make similardeterminations as interaction tablet 135.

If another customer has a profile that can be determined as belonging tosomeone that should be introduced, then information regarding the otherprofile can be provided (235) to the mobile device (240). For example,in FIG. 1, information from profile 130 can be provided to mobile device105 used by customer 115. As depicted in GUI 150, this can include thename of customer 120 (e.g., “Byron Bunyan IV”) and an indication thatcustomer 115 can purchase a product or service for customer 120. In FIG.1, because interaction tablet 135 is in a coffee shop, customer 115 canorder a “latte” as indicated in GUI 150 for customer 120. Thisinformation (i.e., the particular object or service that can bepurchased for the other customer) can also be received from profile 130.In some implementations, the information can also include locationinformation for a customer within the retail space. For example, in FIG.1, the location of customer 120 within the coffee shop can be providedto customer 115. The location can be a table number, a description ofwhere customer 120 is within the store (e.g., the table in the corner),etc.

A request to purchase the product corresponding to the other profileinformation can be provided (245) and the purchase of the product can becompleted (250). For example, if customer 115 selects that he wants toorder a “latte” for customer 120 because that is what customer 120prefers from that location, a message can be provided to interactiontablet 135. Interaction tablet 135 can then display a message availableto a barrista, input in an order into an existing ordering system, etc.such that the product can be prepared. Customer 115 can then pick up theitem, bring it over to the table of customer 120, and offer it as anintroduction to a discussion regarding maintaining their beards (orother conversational topics).

More information than analyzing the profiles can be used determinewhether customers can be recommended to converse with each other. FIG. 5illustrates an example of a block diagram for determining a match. InFIG. 5, similarities between the profiles can be determined (505). Forexample, as previously discussed, similarities between theconversational topics, profile types, even type of product preferencecan be determined.

Similarities between purchase histories can also be determined (510).For example, if customers often purchase the same products (e.g., Xamount of times in the last Y days, the same product is purchased atleast 75% of the time, etc.) from the retail store, then this can beconsidered when recommending customers to interact with each other. Thismight be done because customers might indicate similar productpreferences and discussing the product can also be an introduction to amore meaningful and engaging conversation.

The persons that customers have previously connected with can also bedetermined (515). For example, interaction tablet 135 can store records(or it can store the records in a cloud server that it can access)indicating who customers within the store have previously interactedwith. If customer 115 in and customer 120 in FIG. 1 have both previouslyinteracted with another customer at different times, then this can beconsidered when matching customers. This might be done because itprovides more similarities into customers and customers who interactwith common other customers might have more engaging conversationsthemselves. As a result, conversational histories with other customerswithin the same physical space (e.g., within the same coffee shop) canbe determined by interaction tablet 135, and similarities betweenconversational histories of customer 115 and customer 120 can bedetermined (e.g., determine that they both have had conversations with Xnumber of the same other customers within the coffee shop). Customers115 and 120 can then be recommended to engage with each other.

Mobile device usage can also be determined (520). For example, theinteraction application can determine how the mobile device of acustomer is being used. If one customer tends to browse the Internet fora significant amount of time while another customer tends to not use hismobile device in the coffee shop, then the customer who tends to not usethe mobile device within the coffee shop might be selected to have aconversation with because he or she might be more open to having aconversation because they are not preoccupied with their mobile device.In some implementations, the person using the mobile device might beselected to facilitate their interactions to the social meeting place ofthe coffee shop. Thus, the activities of the customers using theirmobile phones can be determined and used to make the determinationsherein.

Timing characteristics can also be determined (525). For example,customer 115 can be at the coffee shop at 1:00 PM and two othercustomers can also be there at the same time. However, one of thoseother customers might have a history of usually visiting the store atother times (e.g., as determined by purchases by that customer,determinations that the customer is within the store based on theinteractions between the interaction application of the mobile deviceand the interaction tablet 135, etc.). For example, perhaps 75% of thetime, customer A visits the coffee shop between 12:50 PM to 1:15 PM.However, another customer B tends to visit the coffee shop between 11:00AM to 11:30 AM around 80% of the time. Thus, customer B might usuallynot be available for customer 115 to connect with because he enjoysgoing to the coffee shop at 1:00 PM. Thus, customer B might be selectedin part of this determination over customer A because customer A can beselected later because he is more of a regular during the same timearound 1:00 PM. As a result, the potential number of new people forcustomer 110 can meet over time can be increased.

Customers having conversations with other customers can also review eachother and these reviews can be determined to recommend conversations.For example, customers can provide textual reviews (e.g., summarizingtheir experience with the other customer), provide a rating (e.g., 4 outof 5 stars), etc. Thus, the conversations or encounters with othercustomers that were recommended can be reviewed. The reviews ofcustomers can then be used to make the determinations as discussedherein.

Because mobile devices can have the interaction application installed tocommunicate with interaction tablet 135, additional features can bebrought into physical spaces such as retail stores. FIG. 3 illustratesan example of providing a message regarding a promotion within aphysical space. In FIG. 3, interaction tablet 135 can be used to provideindividual discounts for products or services to particular customerswithin the store, or even blanket discounts to all or groups of severalcustomers within the store. For example, because the interactionapplications of the mobile devices interact with interaction tablet 135,it can be determined whether a particular customer is within the store.A GUI displayed on a display screen of interaction tablet 135 canprovide a representation, for example a list, of the customers in thestore who have the interaction application installed. Thus, thesecustomers can be targeted to receive a message providing informationregarding a promotion within the store. The customers can then engagewith the promotion (e.g., purchase a cup of coffee at a 25% discount) byindicating so in the interaction application, resulting in interactiontablet 135 receiving that indication so that an employee can carry outthe purchase (e.g., make a cup of coffee, etc.).

For example, in FIG. 1, interaction tablet 135 can provide messages 305to mobile devices 105 and 110 indicating that purchases for the nextfive minutes are 25% off. Mobile devices 105 and 110 can be targetedbecause they have the interaction application installed and they areconnected to the wireless network so that they are in communication withinteraction tablet 135.

In some implementations, customers who have recently engaged in aconversation using the techniques described herein and are still withinthe store can be identified as customers to provide message 305. Forexample, if one customer purchased the product preference of anothercustomer that they were recommended to engage with in a conversation,then this can indicate that those two customers are having aconversation regarding the conversational topic in their profiles. Thus,customers can be rewarded for socializing within the store and,therefore, creating a lively environment where people would enjoyspending time. In some implementations, the product indicated as beingoffered at a promotional discount can be the product of customer 115 inFIG. 1 who purchased the product corresponding to the product preferenceof customer 120. That is, if customer 115 purchases the product thatcustomer 120 enjoys to being a conversation, the promotional discountcan reflect a promotion regarding product preference 170 of customer115. Thus, customer 115 can receive a discount for something that heenjoys after purchasing a product for customer 120 to begin theconversation. This might extend the conversation and contribute to amore social environment with the shop.

In some implementations, customers within the store who are using acertain type of profile can be identified as customers to receivemessage 305. For example, customers who are visiting for personalreasons (i.e., using a personal profile) can be provided message 305while customers who are currently using the professional profile may notreceive message 305. In some implementations, customers can receivemessage 305 based on other information related to their profilesdisclosed herein, for example, based on their indicated productpreference.

In some implementations, customers can be provided messages uponentering the store. For example, when the customer's mobile device iscommunicatively coupled with the interaction tablet 135 via the wirelessnetwork, the mobile device can be detected and, therefore, the customercan be determined to have entered the store. The customer can then beprovided a message regarding a promotion. Additionally, because thewireless network often has a range beyond the physical boundary of thestore, even passing customers or potential customers can be provided amessage to encourage them to enter the store. In some implementations,interaction tablet 135 can store or access purchase information ofcustomers and then provide a message regarding a purchase based on thecustomer's purchase history at the store. For example, if the lastpurchase of the customer is determined to be a latte at a coffee shop,then when the customer is determined to have entered, they can beprovided a message offering them the opportunity to order the lattebecause it was the last item they purchased. The customer can thenselect to have the latte ordered in a similar manner as disclosedelsewhere herein.

In another implementation, the customer can be provided a messageindicating that they can order a product or service via their mobiledevice using the interaction application. The customer can provide orderdetails (e.g., the item they wish to purchase), can be providedinformation regarding a discount, etc. and then they can receive aconfirmation when their order is ready for pick up.

In FIG. 1, this results in mobile device 105 receiving message 305. Ifthe customer using mobile device 105 wants to engage in the promotion,they can indicate so (e.g., selecting a button, hyperlink, etc. providedby a GUI displaying message 305) and this information can be providedback to interaction tablet 135 can they can process the order. Thus,interaction tablet 135 can provide an easy and targeted way to offerdiscounts depending on the time of day, lull in sales, etc.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a block diagram for providing a messageregarding a promotion within a physical space. In FIG. 4, parametersrelated to promotions can be established (405). For example, in FIG. 3,a store employee can utilize interaction tablet 135 to establish when tosend out messages regarding promotions (e.g., when sales drop below acertain monetary amount (under $1000) in a particular time period (e.g.,1 hour), when the number of customers detected within the store usingthe interaction application is within some range (e.g., less than 10customers), when a certain number of customers have used the interactionapplication to engage in conversations (e.g., 5 groups of conversationscurrently engaged within the store), etc.). In another example, when anew customer is determined to have entered the store can be a parameter.Eventually, characteristics of the physical space can be determined(410). For example, any of the aforementioned conditions can bedetermined to have been met. In some implementations, an employee of thestore can manually select to send a promotion.

A message related to the promotion can then be provided to the devicesbased on the determined characteristics (415). For example, in FIG. 3,message 305 can be provided by interaction tablet 135 to mobile devices105 and 110 upon the determination of the characteristics of theenvironment of the retail store. Thus, customers can receive informationindicating that they are being offered a promotion related to theproducts or services of the store. Using the interaction application,the customers can indicate that they want to engage with the promotion.Thus, purchase information regarding the promotion can be received(420). As a result, interactive tablet 135 can then process thepurchases (425). For example, it can indicate to an employee that he orshe needs to prepare the products related to the promotion.

Interaction tablet 135 can also enable additional features within thephysical spaces it is placed within. For example, a customer can be ableto “gift” a purchase to another customer within the store. A customercan use his or her interaction application, which can interface withinteraction tablet 135 to receive data indicating other customers withinthe store and purchase that customer a product. For example, theprofiles of other customers that they have activated using theinteraction application can be listed and viewed for additional insightinto that customer. That customer can then receive a message indicatingwho purchased the product and that the product is available or has beenpurchased for them.

In some implementations, customers can provide their credit cardinformation, gift card information, loyalty card information, or otherforms of payments to facilitate the purchases described herein.

In some implementations, customers can use both personal and businessprofiles at the same time. For example, in FIG. 1, customer 115 canenable both personal profile 155 and professional profile 160. Thedifferent profiles can indicate different information (e.g., differentconversational topics).

In some implementations, more than two customers can be recommended tohave a conversation. For example, three different customers might havesimilarities in their information (e.g., from their profiles) in a waythat they might have a meaningful group conversation. Thus, in someimplementations, customers can indicate a maximum, minimum, or a rangeof customers to be included in a potential conversation within thecoffee shop. In some implementations, to encourage such livelyconversations, the retail space might offer a higher promotionaldiscount than if customers are engaged in two-customer conversations orare by themselves. In some implementations, interaction tablet 135 doesnot recommend conversations, rather, the customers can use theinteraction application (and any functionality related to interactiontablet 135) to explore other customers within the area to be aware ofeach other and then connect as they wish.

In some implementations, interaction tablet 135 is not included. Forexample, two different people with the interaction application installedupon their mobile devices might be walking on the same street. Theinteraction application can use cellular communications, globalpositioning satellite (GPS) systems, etc. to determine that the usersare within close proximity and then recommend conversations as disclosedherein.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a device for facilitatingconversations. In FIG. 6, assistant device 105 includes a processor 605,memory 610, touchscreen display 625, speaker 615, microphone 635, aswell as other types of hardware such as non-volatile memory, aninterface device, camera, radios, etc. to implement customer managementlogic 630 providing the techniques disclosed herein. For example,customer management logic 630 can implement a variety of modules, units,components, logic, etc. implemented via circuitry and other hardware andsoftware to provide a customer interaction logic (e.g., to determinesimilarities, etc. between customers), customer engagement logic (e.g.,to connect customers, perform purchases, etc.), etc. Various commoncomponents (e.g., cache memory) are omitted for illustrative simplicity.The assistant device is intended to illustrate a hardware device onwhich any of the components described in the example of FIGS. 1-5 (andany other components described in this specification) can beimplemented. The components of the assistant device can be coupledtogether via a bus or through some other known or convenient device.

The processor 605 may be, for example, a microprocessor circuit such asan Intel Pentium microprocessor or Motorola power PC microprocessor. Oneof skill in the relevant art will recognize that the terms“machine-readable (storage) medium” or “computer-readable (storage)medium” include any type of device that is accessible by the processor.Processor 605 can also be circuitry such as an application specificintegrated circuits (ASICs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs),field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), structured ASICs, etc.

The memory is coupled to the processor by, for example, a bus. Thememory can include, by way of example but not limitation, random accessmemory (RAM), such as dynamic RAM (DRAM) and static RAM (SRAM). Thememory can be local, remote, or distributed.

The bus also couples the processor to the non-volatile memory and driveunit. The non-volatile memory is often a magnetic floppy or hard disk; amagnetic-optical disk; an optical disk; a read-only memory (ROM) such asa CD-ROM, EPROM, or EEPROM; a magnetic or optical card; or another formof storage for large amounts of data. Some of this data is oftenwritten, by a direct memory access process, into memory during theexecution of software in the computer. The non-volatile storage can belocal, remote or distributed. The non-volatile memory is optionalbecause systems can be created with all applicable data available inmemory. A typical computer system will usually include at least aprocessor, memory, and a device (e.g., a bus) coupling the memory to theprocessor.

The software can be stored in the non-volatile memory and/or the driveunit. Indeed, storing an entire large program in memory may not even bepossible. Nevertheless, it should be understood that for software torun, it may be necessary to move the software to a computer-readablelocation appropriate for processing, and, for illustrative purposes,that location is referred to as memory in this application. Even whensoftware is moved to memory for execution, the processor will typicallymake use of hardware registers to store values associated with thesoftware and make use of a local cache that, ideally, serves toaccelerate execution. As used herein, a software program is can bestored at any known or convenient location (from non-volatile storage tohardware registers).

The bus also couples the processor to the network interface device. Theinterface can include one or more of a modem or network interface. Thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that a modem or network interface canbe considered to be part of the computer system. The interface caninclude an analog modem, an ISDN modem, a cable modem, a token ringinterface, a satellite transmission interface (e.g., “direct PC”), orother interface for coupling a computer system to other computersystems. The interface can include one or more input and/or outputdevices. The input and/or output devices can include, by way of examplebut not limitation, a keyboard, a mouse or other pointing device, diskdrives, printers, a scanner, and other input and/or output devices,including a display device. The display device can include, by way ofexample but not limitation, a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), or some other applicable known or convenient displaydevice.

In operation, the assistant device can be controlled by operating systemsoftware that includes a file management system, such as a diskoperating system. The file management system is typically stored in thenon-volatile memory and/or drive unit and causes the processor toexecute the various acts required by the operating system to input andoutput data, and to store data in the memory, including storing files onthe non-volatile memory and/or drive unit.

Some items of the detailed description may be presented in terms ofalgorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bitswithin a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions andrepresentations are the means used by those skilled in the dataprocessing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their workto others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally,conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of operations leading to adesired result. The operations are those requiring physicalmanipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily,these quantities take the form of electronic or magnetic signals capableof being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and/or otherwisemanipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasonsof common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements,symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar termsare to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and aremerely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unlessspecifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the followingdiscussion, those skilled in the art will appreciate that throughout thedescription, discussions utilizing terms such as “processing” or“computing” or “calculating” or “determining” or “displaying” or“generating” or the like refer to the action and processes of a computersystem or similar electronic computing device that manipulates andtransforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities withinthe computer system's registers and memories into other data similarlyrepresented as physical quantities within the computer system's memoriesor registers or other such information storage, transmission, or displaydevices.

The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently relatedto any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general-purposesystems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachingsherein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specializedapparatuses to perform the methods of some embodiments. The requiredstructure for a variety of these systems will be apparent from thedescription below. In addition, the techniques are not described withreference to any particular programming language, and variousembodiments may thus be implemented using a variety of programminglanguages.

In further embodiments, the assistant device operates as a standalonedevice or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In anetworked deployment, the assistant device may operate in the capacityof a server or of a client machine in a client-server networkenvironment or may operate as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (ordistributed) network environment.

In some embodiments, the assistant devices include a machine-readablemedium. While the machine-readable medium or machine-readable storagemedium is shown in an exemplary embodiment to be a single medium, theterm “machine-readable medium” and “machine-readable storage medium”should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., acentralized or distributed database and/or associated caches andservers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. The term“machine-readable medium” and “machine-readable storage medium” shouldalso be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing,encoding, or carrying a set of instructions for execution by themachine, and which causes the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies or modules of the presently disclosed technique andinnovation.

In general, the routines executed to implement the embodiments of thedisclosure may be implemented as part of an operating system or aspecific application, component, program, object, module, or sequence ofinstructions referred to as “computer programs.” The computer programstypically comprise one or more instructions set at various times invarious memory and storage devices in a computer that, when read andexecuted by one or more processing units or processors in a computer,cause the computer to perform operations to execute elements involvingvarious aspects of the disclosure.

Moreover, while embodiments have been described in the context of fullyfunctioning computers and computer systems, those skilled in the artwill appreciate that the various embodiments are capable of beingdistributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that thedisclosure applies equally, regardless of the particular type ofmachine- or computer-readable media used to actually effect thedistribution.

Further examples of machine-readable storage media, machine-readablemedia, or computer-readable (storage) media include, but are not limitedto, recordable type media such as volatile and non-volatile memorydevices, floppy and other removable disks, hard disk drives, opticaldisks (e.g., Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROMS), Digital VersatileDiscs, (DVDs), etc.), among others, and transmission type media such asdigital and analog communication links.

In some circumstances, operation of a memory device, such as a change instate from a binary one to a binary zero or vice-versa, for example, maycomprise a transformation, such as a physical transformation. Withparticular types of memory devices, such a physical transformation maycomprise a physical transformation of an article to a different state orthing. For example, but without limitation, for some types of memorydevices, a change in state may involve an accumulation and storage ofcharge or a release of stored charge. Likewise, in other memory devices,a change of state may comprise a physical change or transformation inmagnetic orientation or a physical change or transformation in molecularstructure, such as from crystalline to amorphous or vice-versa. Theforegoing is not intended to be an exhaustive list in which a change instate for a binary one to a binary zero or vice-versa in a memory devicemay comprise a transformation, such as a physical transformation.Rather, the foregoing is intended as illustrative examples.

A storage medium may typically be non-transitory or comprise anon-transitory device. In this context, a non-transitory storage mediummay include a device that is tangible, meaning that the device has aconcrete physical form, although the device may change its physicalstate. Thus, for example, non-transitory refers to a device remainingtangible despite this change in state.

The foregoing description of various embodiments of the claimed subjectmatter has been provided for the purposes of illustration anddescription. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the claimedsubject matter to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to one skilled in the art. Embodiments werechosen and described in order to best describe certain principles andpractical applications, thereby enabling others skilled in the relevantart to understand the subject matter, the various embodiments and thevarious modifications that are suited to the particular usescontemplated.

While embodiments have been described in the context of fullyfunctioning computers and computer systems, those skilled in the artwill appreciate that the various embodiments are capable of beingdistributed as a program product in a variety of forms and that thedisclosure applies equally regardless of the particular type of machine-or computer-readable media used to actually effect the distribution.

Although the above Detailed Description describes certain embodimentsand the best mode contemplated, no matter how detailed the above appearsin text, the embodiments can be practiced in many ways. Details of thesystems and methods may vary considerably in their implementationdetails while still being encompassed by the specification. As notedabove, particular terminology used when describing certain features oraspects of various embodiments should not be taken to imply that theterminology is being redefined herein to be restricted to any specificcharacteristics, features, or aspects of the disclosed technique withwhich that terminology is associated. In general, the terms used in thefollowing claims should not be construed to limit the disclosure to thespecific embodiments disclosed in the specification, unless those termsare explicitly defined herein. Accordingly, the actual scope of thetechnique encompasses not only the disclosed embodiments but also allequivalent ways of practicing or implementing the embodiments under theclaims.

The language used in the specification has been principally selected forreadability and instructional purposes, and it may not have beenselected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. Itis therefore intended that the scope of the technique be limited not bythis Detailed Description, but rather by any claims that issue on anapplication based hereon. Accordingly, the disclosure of variousembodiments is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of thescope of the embodiments, which is set forth in the following claims.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that specific embodiments ofthe invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration,but that various modifications may be made without deviating from thescope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not limited exceptas by the appended claims.

I/We claim:
 1. A method for connecting people within a retail space toengage in a conversation with each other, the method comprising:determining, by a tablet device housed within the retail space, that afirst mobile device corresponding to a first customer has entered theretail space, the determination made by receiving a first profileinformation of the first customer that is generated by an interactionapplication of the first mobile device that is configured to provide thefirst profile information to the tablet device; storing, by the tabletdevice, the first profile information in a database, the first profileinformation indicating a conversational topic that the first customer isinterested in engaging in within the retail space, a profile type thatis one of a personal profile type or a business profile type providingfurther context regarding the conversational topic, and a productpreference indicating a product that the first customer prefers topurchase from the retail space; determining, by the tablet device, thata second mobile device corresponding to a second customer has enteredthe retail space, the determination also made by receiving a secondprofile information of the second customer that is generated by theinteraction application of the second mobile device; storing, by thetablet device, the second profile information in the database, thesecond profile information indicating a conversational topic that thesecond customer is interested in engaging in within the retail space,and a profile type that is one of the personal profile type or thebusiness profile type; determining, by the tablet device, that theconversational topic of the first profile information and the secondprofile information are the same, and that profile type of the firstprofile information corresponding to the first customer and the secondprofile information corresponding to the second customer are the same;providing, by the tablet device, an indication to the second mobiledevice corresponding to the second customer that the first customer isavailable within the retail space to discuss the conversational topic;providing, by the tablet device, an indication regarding the productpreference of the first customer; and receiving, by the tablet device, arequest from the second mobile device of the second customer to preparethe product corresponding to the product preference of the firstcustomer to facilitate an introduction to a conversation regarding theconversational topic between the first customer and the second customerwithin the retail space; and generate, by the tablet device, a purchaserequest for an employee of the retail space to prepare a productcorresponding to the product preference for the second customer toprovide the first customer to facilitate the conversation regarding theconversational topic.
 2. A method, comprising: receiving, by aprocessor, a first profile information of a first customer, the firstprofile information representing a conversational topic that the firstcustomer is interested in having within a physical space; determining,by the processor, that a second profile information of a second customerthat is within the physical space also represents the conversationaltopic; providing, by the processor, information regarding the secondcustomer within the physical space to the first customer based on thedetermination that the second profile information also represents theconversational topic, the information including a reference to a productor service that the second customer prefers to obtain from the retailspace; receiving, by the processor, a request from the first customer topurchase the product or service; and generate, by the processor, anindication representing that the first customer wishes to purchase theproduct or service for the second customer to facilitate a conversationregarding the conversational topic.
 3. The method of claim 2, whereinthe first profile information of the first customer also represents afirst profile type, and the second profile information of the secondcustomer also represents a second profile type, the first profile typeof the first profile information and the second profile type of thesecond profile information being one of a personal profile or a businessprofile.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the personal profile and thebusiness profile represent a context regarding the conversational topic.5. The method of claim 3, further comprising: determining that the firstprofile type and the second profile type are similar, wherein providingthe information regarding the second customer within the physical spaceis further based on the determination that the first profile type andthe second profile type are similar.
 6. The method of claim 2, furthercomprising: determining similarities between purchase histories of thefirst customer and the second customer, the purchase historiesrepresenting purchases of products or services related to the physicalspace, wherein providing the information regarding the second customerwithin the physical space is further based on the similarities betweenthe purchase histories.
 7. The method of claim 2, further comprising:determining similarities between conversational histories of the firstcustomer and the second customer within the physical space, whereinproviding the information regarding the second customer within thephysical space is further based on the similarities between theconversational histories.
 8. The method of claim 2, wherein the firstcustomer and the second customer are both within the physical space. 9.The method of claim 8, wherein the first mobile device corresponding tothe first customer and the second mobile device corresponding to thesecond customer are communicatively coupled with a wireless networkimplemented within the physical space.
 10. The method of claim 9,further comprising: determining that the first customer and the secondcustomer are engaged in the conversation; and providing a messageregarding a promotional discount of a product or a service provided bythe physical space based on the determination that the first customerand the second customer are engaged in the conversation.
 11. A system,comprising: a database storing a first profile information of a firstcustomer having a first mobile device that is within a physical space,the first profile information indicating a conversational topic that thefirst customer is interested in within the physical space, the firstprofile information also indicating a reference to a product or aservice that the first customer prefers to purchase from the physicalspace; a customer interaction logic configured to determine that asecond customer having a second mobile device has entered the physicalspace and is associated with a second profile information indicating aconversational topic that the second customer is interested in withinthe physical space, and configured to determine that the conversationaltopic of the first profile information and the second profileinformation are similar; and a customer engagement logic configured toprovide information regarding the first customer within the physicalspace to the second mobile device of the second customer, theinformation including a reference to the product or the service that thefirst customer prefers, and configured to generate an indication thatthe first customer wishes to purchase the product of the service for thesecond customer to facilitate a conversation regarding theconversational topic.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the firstprofile information of the first customer also represents a firstprofile type, and the second profile information of the second customeralso represents a second profile type, the first profile type of thefirst profile information and the second profile type of the secondprofile information being one of a personal profile or a businessprofile.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the personal profile andthe business profile represent a context regarding the conversationaltopic.
 14. The system of claim 12, wherein the customer interactionlogic is further configured to determine that the first profile type andthe second profile type are similar, wherein providing the informationregarding the second customer within the physical space is further basedon the determination that the first profile type and the second profiletype are similar.
 15. The system of claim 11, wherein the customerinteraction logic is further configured to determine similaritiesbetween purchase histories of the first customer and the secondcustomer, the purchase histories representing purchases of products orservices related to the physical space, wherein providing theinformation regarding the second customer within the physical space isfurther based on the similarities between the purchase histories. 16.The system of claim 11, wherein the customer interaction logic isfurther configured to determine similarities between conversationalhistories of the first customer and the second customer within thephysical space, wherein providing the information regarding the secondcustomer within the physical space is further based on the similaritiesbetween the conversational histories.
 17. The system of claim 11,wherein the first customer and the second customer are both within thephysical space.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein the first mobiledevice corresponding to the first customer and the second mobile devicecorresponding to the second customer are communicatively coupled with awireless network implemented within the physical space.
 19. The systemof claim 18, wherein the customer interaction logic is furtherconfigured to determine that the first customer and the second customerare engaged in the conversation and configured to provide a messageregarding a promotional discount of a product or a service provided bythe physical space based on the determination that the first customerand the second customer are engaged in the conversation.
 20. A computerprogram product, comprising one or more non-transitory computer-readablemedia having computer program instructions stored therein, the computerprogram instructions being configured such that, when executed by one ormore computing devices, the computer program instructions cause the oneor more computing devices to: receive a first profile information of afirst customer, the first profile information representing aconversational topic that the first customer is interested in havingwithin a physical space; determine that a second profile information ofa second customer that is within the physical space also represents theconversational topic; provide information regarding the second customerwithin the physical space to the first customer based on thedetermination that the second profile information also represents theconversational topic, the information including a reference to a productor service that the second customer prefers to obtain from the retailspace; receive a request from the first customer to purchase the productor service; and generate an indication representing that the firstcustomer wishes to purchase the product or service for the secondcustomer to facilitate a conversation regarding the conversationaltopic.
 21. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein the firstprofile information of the first customer also represents a firstprofile type, and the second profile information of the second customeralso represents a second profile type, the first profile type of thefirst profile information and the second profile type of the secondprofile information being one of a personal profile or a businessprofile.
 22. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein thepersonal profile and the business profile represent a context regardingthe conversational topic.
 23. The computer program product of claim 21,the computer program instructions cause the one or more computingdevices to: determine that the first profile type and the second profiletype are similar, wherein providing the information regarding the secondcustomer within the physical space is further based on the determinationthat the first profile type and the second profile type are similar. 24.The computer program product of claim 20, the computer programinstructions cause the one or more computing devices to: determinesimilarities between purchase histories of the first customer and thesecond customer, the purchase histories representing purchases ofproducts or services related to the physical space, wherein providingthe information regarding the second customer within the physical spaceis further based on the similarities between the purchase histories. 25.The computer program product of claim 20, the computer programinstructions cause the one or more computing devices to: determinesimilarities between conversational histories of the first customer andthe second customer within the physical space, wherein providing theinformation regarding the second customer within the physical space isfurther based on the similarities between the conversational histories.26. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein the first customerand the second customer are both within the physical space.
 27. Thecomputer program product of claim 26, wherein the first mobile devicecorresponding to the first customer and the second mobile devicecorresponding to the second customer are communicatively coupled with awireless network implemented within the physical space.
 28. The computerprogram product of claim 27, the computer program instructions cause theone or more computing devices to: determine that the first customer andthe second customer are engaged in the conversation; and provide amessage regarding a promotional discount of a product or a serviceprovided by the physical space based on the determination that the firstcustomer and the second customer are engaged in the conversation.
 29. Amethod, comprising: selecting a first profile type representing that afirst customer having a first mobile device is interesting in having aconversation in one of a personal context or a business context within aphysical space; providing a conversational topic related to theconversation; generating, by a processor, a first profile representingthat the first customer is interested in having the conversationcorresponding to the conversational topic within the physical space inthe personal or the business context; providing the first profilerepresenting the first customer to an interaction tablet housed withinthe physical space, the interaction tablet configured to communicatewith mobile devices of customers within the physical space; receiving asecond profile representing that a second customer having a secondmobile device is also interesting in having the conversationcorresponding to the conversational topic within the physical space inthe personal or the business context associated with the first profile,the second profile also indicating a preference for a product or aservice that the second customer prefers to obtain within the physicalspace; and generate, by the processor, a request representing that thefirst customer wishes to purchase the product or the servicecorresponding to the preference of the second customer to facilitate theconversation regarding the conversational topic.
 30. The method of claim30, wherein the first customer and the second customer are both withinthe physical space.
 31. The method of claim 30, wherein the first mobiledevice, the second mobile device, and the interaction tablet arecommunicatively coupled to a wireless network implemented within thephysical space.